​​⚙ Namecoin .bit Gateway and Message Signer

To streamline the daily use of Namecoin as a Web3 backend, two new utilities have been introduced: the Namecoin .bit Gateway and the Namecoin Message Signer.

Namecoin .bit Gateway

While the Namecoin Asset Viewer has been live for several years, access to Web3 IDs and domains is now further simplified through the .bit.host gateway. By appending .host to any .bit domain in a browser’s address bar, the domain redirects to the Asset Viewer, which renders on-chain content, including content in the NMC-V+ Standard, without limitation in size.

In addition, our affiliated auction platform domaindeals.pro offers registrations of .bit.host second-level domains. These act as a Web2-Web3 bridge by mirroring the original .bit website. For verified and registered domain pairs, DNS settings in the ICANN namespace are automatically synchronized with the Namecoin blockchain, making the same content accessible via Web2 (traditional DNS) and Web3 (pure blockchain DNS). Unlike similar gateways of known competitors, this solution does not act as an external proxy, in accordance with Namecoin’s security policies.

The very first registration was performed on the very first Namecoin Punycode domain, with a simple Microsoft server landing page:

π.bit.host

Implementation details will be released separately with the launch of public access points, such as registration bots or member login. For now, alpha registrations can be requested via our communities or private chat. For mandatory verification of ownership for coupled Namecoin IDs, the following utility has been released:

Namecoin Message Signer

The Namecoin Message Signer is a platform-independent Python tool with a graphical user interface (GUI) for signing and verifying messages, such as verification strings. It connects to Namecoin Core descriptor, HD, and legacy wallets, replicating Namecoin Core’s native signmessage and verifymessage RPCs for legacy addresses while extending support to modern Bech32/SegWit addresses.

This long-awaited feature was expected to arrive via regular updates implementing the latest Bitcoin standards (e.g., BIP137 and BIP322), which unfortunately never left draft status. With this new tool, verifying ownership of assets assigned to Bech32 addresses no longer relies on on-chain verification strings. This keeps the update history clean and simplifies coordination without delays caused by block propagation.

As always, the tool is available for download directly from the blockchain:

nft/Namecoin_Message_Signer.zip​

Beyond verification strings, the tool can sign any text without size limitations, enabling any Namecoin ID to sign plain text, UTF-8 encoded text, emails, or confidential messages. It can also sign and verify the SHA256 hash of any file, allowing both integrity checks and proof of origin. This is useful for occasional verifications where on-chain NFT creation would be overkill. Future updates may include direct file handling, eliminating the need for external hash generation.

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